Applicant claims priority from German patent application 20113884.0 filed Aug. 22, 2001.
A connector that mounts on a circuit board can include an insulative frame with passages that hold contacts with tails to be soldered to traces on the circuit board. The frame can be held down to the board by fixing a sheet metal solder plate to the bottom of the frame and soldering the solder plate to one or more traces on the circuit board.
Low cost manufacture requires that the solder plate be easily fixed to the lower end of the insulator. One method, described in European patent application EP 0 930 812 A2 includes molding the frame with downwardly projecting pegs and forming the sheet metal solder plate with corresponding holes. The pegs are projected through the holes and the peg lower ends are deformed by the application of heat and pressure to produce hot riveting. Such hot riveting is difficult, requires a separate a manufacturing step, and requires appropriate equipment. It would be desirable if the solder plate could be more easily attached to the insulator, while still assuring a reliable attachment.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a solder plate is provided that can be soldered to a circuit board to hold an electrical connector frame to the board, wherein the connector frame and solder plate are constructed for ease of fixing the solder plate to the frame. The insulative connector frame has a plurality of pegs depending from a lower surface portion thereof, and the solder plate has a plurality of corresponding peg-receiving holes. The solder plate forms at least one projection at each of the peg-receiving holes. When a peg is forced through one of the holes, the projection presses against the peg to form an interference fit between the peg and the walls of the hole that prevent removal of the solder plate from the frame. Each projection is bent downwardly by a corresponding peg moving downwardly through the hole, with the projection extending at a downward incline from a major portion of the solder plate to the peg, so the free end of the projection can dig into the peg if the peg starts to move upward out of the hole.
Each peg has a vertical slot, and a corresponding projection has a free outer end with a nose that projects partially into the slot. This allows the slot to prevent the projection from being bent sidewardly. Each hole in the solder plate has a concave side opposite the projection, the concave side partially encircling the peg. The solder plate has corners, and the concave side of a hole lies closest to the corner of the plate.
The novel features of the invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention will be best understood from the following description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.